Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations room for hybrid strippers?

do i have room to add some hybrid strippers in the following situation: new pond. 5 acres. feb 2005 stocked 5,000 coppernose bluegill and 40 lbs of fathead minnows. june 2005, stocked 400 1"" bass (50% pure floridas and 50% f1). the bass are now 12" long and 1lb. some 13" and a pound and a half. since then i have read your great posts on hybrid strippers. do i have room to add those now or would that be too many predetors. if you think i have room, how many would you add and what size do they have to be so the 12" bass don't eat them all? thanks.

darrell stringer

I ran into some hybrid strippers once in a little dive outside of Tampa...half Seminole and half...

...wait, were you talkin' about fish? :rolleyes:

darrell:

Yes, you can add HSB to your pond. If your biggest LMB are 13", 6"-7" HSB would be susceptible to predation. I would want to put in at least 8"-9" HSB if I were you.

Some of the TX area HSB fanatics will have the best idea as to how many to add. I would estimate you could go with 100 HSB if you are not planning on feeding, more if you are going to feed. If this is your first pond I would stay conservative and hold it to 200 HSB or less this year. If you like them as much as most of us, you will be adding more every year or so.

Dang it J.R., I gotta decide whether to moderate you or not, after I stop chuckling.

jr, you see why i failed spelling in the first grade. you made my sides hurt i laughted so much.

darrell stringer

darrell, are the dates and sizes correct on the LMBs? 1" in June '05 and 12" in March '06?

It sounds like you really did the forage base very nicely.

Are you feeding too?

sunil, yes the dates/sizes as you stated. i do fed with auto feeders from mid march till mid november.

darrell stringer

Theo Gallus:

There have been questions about your moderation of this particular hybrid stripper thread.

It appears that you have more experience in this subject area than is commonly known! :p

That's awesome growth. Congratulations!

Some HSB will be a nice addition. I have less than (20) in my 6-7 acre pond, however, I don't feed regularly (maybe just some hand feeding a few times a month in the summer). The reason I put such a small number of HSB in my pond was because I just wanted the occasional sighting or catch.

But it is cool to watch an ongoing, moving, multiple fish boil in the water from any distance when the HSB are crushing on small bait fish.

Glad you had a laugh, Darrell. I'm sure you will have plenty of chances to poke fun at my typos as well...I'm no spelling master either.

I'm starting to get interested in the hybrid striper thing as well. Keep us posted on how it works out for you.


Theo, please no moderation! I will try to be a good boy...but it may be kinda tough.

Darrell,

I would recommend no more than 25 HSBs per acre in your situation. To alleviate the added competition and encourage further LMB growth, consider removing a male LMB for every HSB that you intend to stock, then keeping good records and a keen eye on your baitfish population in the future. Male LMBs should be easy to harvest and differentiate during the months of March, April, and May. Feeding is a plus. Baitfish can be stocked as needed as well.